'There's a lot of pain out there,' says sister of inmate who died at EMDC

Lynn Pigeau, left, plans to walk from EMDC to Queen's Park in May to raise awareness of problems in Ontario's jails. Her mother, Janice, right, will drive the support van. Janice's son, James Pigeau, died at EMDC in January 2018. (RANDY RICHMOND, The London Free Press)

The sister of an inmate who died at London’s provincial jail is planning to walk from the jail to Queen’s Park in May to draw attention to the problems in Ontario’s corrections system.

Lynn Pigeau is inviting families of other inmates, former inmates and correctional staff from across the province to rally at Queen’s Park in Toronto May 30 when she finishes her walk.

The problems at each jail in Ontario get local media attention and awareness, but don’t catch the public’s interest across the province, Pigeau said.

“There’s a lot of pain out there and it’s got to end,” she said.

Awareness of the problems at London’s jail “is not leaving London. It’s got to leave London. If it has to leave London by foot then I will do it,” Pigeau said Tuesday. “Getting the word to Queen’s Park, whatever we have to do, it has to be done.”

Pigeau’s brother, James, 32, died of a suspected overdose Jan. 7, 2018 at EMDC. He was the sixth inmate in eight months and the 13th in nine years to die in the jail.

Lynn Pigeau said she plans to take four days to walk to Toronto, with her mother Janice driving a support van, and would welcome anyone who wants to join her for a while on the way.

Roger and Janice Pigeau, whose son, James Pigeau, 29, died in the Elgin-Middlesex Detention Centre on Dec. 26, 2017. DALE CARRUTHERS / THE LONDON FREE PRESS

“I’m not saying it’s going to be easy, but I’m determined to do it,” said Pigeau, a cancer survivor. “I’ve overcome a lot worse than walking 10 hours a day.”

James Pigeau was an outspoken advocate for changes in the jail and in regular contact with The London Free Press, CBC, and London lawyer Kevin Egan.

“We’ve been talking about changes in corrections for a decade and very little has been done,” Egan said Tuesday after meeting with the Pigeau family.

James Pigeau, 32, died of a suspected overdose Jan. 7, 2018 at EMDC

“I think that part of the problem is the public isn’t aware of just how bad things are. We need to do something. We can’t just sit by and let it continue.”

Egan began representing inmates and their families in legal action against the province in 2011 and has become an advocate for jail reform.

In April 2018, he invited the families of people who died at EMDC to a meeting to share their stories.

After that meeting, several families erected memorial crosses at the entrance to EMDC and some have protested at the site each weekend since.

Staff at EMDC have complained about the crosses, and the families and the jail’s community advisory board have been meeting to see if some kind of memorial honouring both inmates and staff can be erected.

Pigeau and Egan said they’d like to see correctional staff and representatives of their union, the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU), join the rally at Queen’s Park May 30.

“It’s important for employees to know we’re there for them, too,” Pigeau said.

Both the families of inmates and OPSEU are putting more pressure on the Doug Ford government to keep promises made while in Opposition to fix Ontario’s corrections system.

The London and area families are joining their counterparts in Hamilton March 16 for a protest against conditions in that city’s jail.

Lynn Pigeau also is hoping people join a peaceful protest at the Juno awards in London the next day.

OPSEU president Smokey Thomas challenged Ford on Tuesday to join him for a tour of the Toronto South Detention Centre, where a number of correctional officers recently were assaulted.

Correctional staff across Ontario have taken to social media this week to pledge money to convince Corrections Minister Sylvia Jones to work a shift at the Toronto detention centre.